News

Fresh board for Norilsk

ONE of Canada’s top mining executives may be parachuted onto the board of Norilsk Nickel, the £30 billion mining group that is the subject of a fierce tug-of-war between two oligarchs.

Tye Burt, chief executive of Kinross Gold, a leading gold producer quoted in Toronto and New York, will this week be put up for election as part of a replacement set of directors for Norilsk.

The alternative board is being put forward by UC Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium group, and Mikhail Prokhorov, an oligarch who is a big shareholder in Norilsk.

Election of the new directors will be fiercely opposed by the current Norilsk management and Vladimir Potanin, another significant shareholder.

Potanin and Prokhorov were once business partners. Over the last year, however, they have been negotiating a split of their assets, which has resulted in a messy battle for control of several groups  including Norilsk.